What do you do when one business isn't enough? These two
entrepreneurs started one business, then almost immediately began
looking for their next.

Karen McMasters is president of Bare Babies Inc., a
$2 million online baby products business she launched on Yahoo!
Stores in February 2000. Three years later, she started AllCola.com
with her mother, a lifelong collector of Coca-Cola memorabilia. In
January 2004, she debuted Ciao Bella Baby to leverage her success with
Bare Babies and attract a higher-end customer. In 2004, she
projects sales of $60,000 for AllCola.com and $1 million for Ciao
Bella Baby.

McMasters, 40, says one main benefit of having more than one
company is diversification. "It's comforting to have a
variety [of businesses] and not put all your eggs in one basket. It
keeps life interesting."

, 37, started $10 million, Dallas-based Brinson Benefits
Inc. in 1996 to administer employee benefits to midsize companies.
She started COBRA Charmers three years later when she realized many
of her existing clients were not in compliance with COBRA
regulations; today, COBRA Charmers makes almost $100,000.

While serial entrepreneurs tend to get more publicity, McMasters
and Brinson-Roark are examples of a new breed of "parallel
entrepreneurs." "A parallel entrepreneur can't and
doesn't wait to finish one startup before conceiving and
launching other ventures," explains Dr. Debra Condren, founder
and president of Business Psychology Solutions, a coaching and business
consulting firm with offices in New York City and San Francisco. A
serial entrepreneur, like a parallel one, may get bored working on
only one business idea but is more inclined to fully exit a prior
venture before moving onto the next one.

Based on her surveys of business owners, Condren notes that
parallel entrepreneurs are more common in the service industry and
among consulting businesses. Based on McMasters' example,
certain Internet-based businesses-particularly those with low
startup costs-can also be ideal for parallel
entrepreneurs.

Both McMasters and Brinson-Roark acknowledge benefits to
building more than one company. COBRA Charmers has supported
Brinson-Roark's first company through money crunches.
"Brinson Benefits has a long sales cycle, and our cash flow is
hit hard the first year we take on a new client," explains
Brinson-Roark. "COBRA Charmers' fees are collected
annually, in advance, thus improving cash flow."

For McMasters, starting AllCola.com was a way to help her mother
retire while allowing her to generate income doing something she
loves. She started Ciao Bella Baby partly to address an issue with
her first company-because of the word "bare" in
Bare Babies, some of her potential customers with child-protection
software couldn't access her site. "It was years before I
realized [the domain name] was a potential problem," explains
McMasters. "After establishing the brand name and the customer
base, I decided the risks and hassles of changing the business name
could cause more harm than good." A new company helped make up
for any losses.

Brinson-Roark was initially concerned that starting and running
a second company would diminish her original company's focus
and that she had underestimated the investment another venture
would require to be successful. With improved cash flow and
stronger ties with her customers, however, she feels her business
decision was sound. She'd even consider starting a third
company if the right opportunity presented itself. Brinson-Roark
says, "I'm willing to take calculated risks."

Would McMasters and Brinson-Roark recommend starting multiple
companies to other women? "Absolutely. Go for it!" says
McMasters. "There are fewer challenges when starting
additional businesses-you know what steps need to be taken
and in what order." With a parallel business, she points out,
you can also leverage established customer relationships and credit
references.

Brinson-Roark agrees. "Starting a second business is easier
than the first. You'll know more of what to expect, and
you'll be more realistic in your goals."